Lazar, aka Guccifer, claims he hacked Clinton's private server and decided against sharing her files - but there's no corroborating evidence
He is best known for alleged hacks into accounts held by the Bushes that revealed private family photos and paintings and Colin Powell
 |
| The Romanian hacker known as Guccifer, who is charged with breaking into computer accounts of the Bush family, Secretary of State Colin Powell and others, will plead guilty to federal charges |
The Romanian hacker known as Guccifer, who is accused of breaking into computer accounts of the Bush family, Secretary of State Colin Powell and others, will plead guilty to federal charges.
Marcel Lazar, 44, also says he broke into longtime Clinton associate Sidney Blumenthal's account and released his correspondence with the then-secretary of state.
Lazar now claims he likewise hacked Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's private server and decided against sharing her files.
Her campaign says that is not true - her server was never hacked - and his charge has not otherwise been corroborated.
If Lazar struck a plea deal with prosecutors, he may be called on by the feds to proffer information about the alleged Clinton hack, however.
Last month Lazar pleaded not guilty last month to a host of crimes including cyberstalking, unauthorized access to computers and obstruction of justice.
At a change-of-plea hearing is scheduled Wednesday at U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Lazar, of Arad, Romania, will cop to some of the crimes, according to court records.
The records do not specify which charges Lazar will plead to. His court-appointed lawyer did not immediately return a phone call from AP seeking comment Monday.
Lazar is best known for alleged hacks into accounts held by the Bushes that revealed private family photos and paintings connected to former presidents George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush.
He also made news his month with unsubstantiated claims he hacked into Hillary Clinton's private email server.
He was indicted in the U.S. in 2014. A Romanian court approved him for extradition earlier this year.
The indictment does not identify the victims by name but describes 'Victim 1' as 'a family member of two former U.S. presidents.'
The Bush family member's hacked AOL account resulted in leaked emails, medical information, photographs, home addresses, and telephone numbers, according to the indictment.
The website The Smoking Gun published some of the hacked photos, including pictures of paintings by George W. Bush, and a photo of George H.W. Bush in the hospital.
The Smoking Gun said the hacked account belonged to Dorothy Bush Koch, the daughter of the elder Bush and sister of the younger.
The indictment also identifies 'Victim 3,' believed to be Powell, and says his Facebook account was hacked, and posts went out under Powell's name stating 'You will burn in hell, Bush!' and 'Kill the illuminati!'
Guccifer likewise claimed credit for hacking an email account of Sidney Blumenthal, a confidant of Hillary Clinton, in March 2013.
That subsequent leak of Blumenthal's emails was the first time that outsiders became aware of Clinton's private 'clintonemail.com' address, which she used to communicate with Blumenthal.
It has now become part of an FBI investigation into whether Clinton mishandled sensitive emails.
Blumenthal appears to be described in the indictment as Victim 5, 'a journalist and former presidential advisor' whose account was hacked in March 2013.
Lazar told multiple news outlets earlier this month that he hacked Clinton's email server, but that he didn't publish any of the emails because he found them uninteresting. He offered no proof of his claims.
No comments:
Post a Comment